The Sound of Heaven
by SunnyZim
Summary: Claire has known Quil all her life and views him as nothing more than her best friend. Or does she? Received an Honourable Mention in the Fictionator's Blog for the When Love Was New Contest.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Voting for the Sort of Beautiful Challenge is now open! So if you enjoyed my entry for it, "A Golden-Hearted Rose", please go and vote!! The link is on my profile - just copy and paste it into the search bar:-) Voting is open until 12 October. ALSO, "A Golden-Hearted Rose" has been nominated in the BEST FLUFF category in the Sparkle Awards!! The link is on my profile, so go and check out the other nominees! Voting opens on 16 October.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Quil or Claire. **

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**When Love Was New Contest**

**Title of Entry: The Sound of Heaven  
**

**Your pen name: SunnyZim**

**If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this contest visit: When Love Was New C2 Community **  
http://www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/community/When_Love_Was_New_Contest_Entries/73614/

**The Sound of Heaven**

_Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle._

_~Amy Bloom~_

Some people never find love. Others, who are more fortunate, wake up on an ordinary day, get dressed and go to work, only to meet their soulmate whilst waiting for their cappuccino at the local café on their lunch break. And then there are those who spend what feels like a lifetime searching for the mysterious _one_, only to realise one day in the middle of a conversation with their best friend that all dreams and ideals pale in comparison with the person sitting opposite them, mundane as that may seem. And yet, it is not mundane, because who would want a dashing and brooding prince when you could have your best friend? Or at least, that is what Claire thought. And this is, after all, her story.

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Claire's story began really when she was two years old. Her life story obviously began before that, but it was only when she was two that a very important person entered her life, although she was not to realise the significance of this person until many, many years later. The person in question was a young man named Quil. A boy to be precise. Or a man-boy, because with werewolves it was quite hard to tell. Yes, Quil was a werewolf. And when he met Claire he imprinted on her, which meant that he knew the moment he laid eyes upon her that she was his soulmate, his _one. _However, this is Claire's story, not Quil's, and Claire would not come to this realisation for a long, long time.

-----------------

Like most people, Claire did not have many memories of her early childhood. There were of course the random and slightly confusing flashbacks involving hairy caterpillars and sandpits, but on the whole her early formative years blended into a colourful blur. However there was one thing that she _could _remember very clearly, or rather one person. But that was strange really because there was no way that Quil could have been around when she was a little kid and still look the same as he did now. Quil, for the uninformed, was Claire's 'bethteth friend ever', as she herself put it. He was funny and cool and didn't mind playing Barbies with her (although he insisted on having the Ken Barbie), and he was the only person who didn't mock her for her recently acquired lisp (losing teeth really sucked…. in more ways than one). He was a lot older than her nine year old self, but he didn't seem to mind hanging out with her nonetheless. In fact, he even seemed to enjoy it. And Claire loved him as she would a carefree older brother. Not in any _other_ way of course, because boys were gross and smelt bad. And anyway, Quil was _way _too old.

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"_Quil, Tommy h-h-_hates_ me!_" 11-year old Claire came running into the living room, tears streaming down her cheeks, which were flushed with misery and humiliation. The young man sitting there immediately stood up, a look of concern and affection in his dark eyes as he reached out his arms to the little girl before him. She flung herself into him and sobbed into his warm chest as he gently rubbed her back with one hand, murmuring meaningless and awkward words of comfort into her hair.

"What's the matter, Claire-bear? Why do you think Tommy hates you? Why don't we sit down and you can tell me all about it, sweetie."

Claire nodded miserably and curling up on the sofa next to her best friend, she began to pour her heart out to him, her desperate flow of words occasionally broken up by breathless sobs.

"I t-told Laura that I l-l-_like _him and she went and _told_ him and now he won't s-speak to me anymore! H-he wouldn't even _look _at me at s-school and n-now everyone's _laughing _at me, and I f-feel so _stupid_ and Quil, _n-nobody will ever l-love me!"_

On these last words, Claire's chest heaved with another deep sob and she clutched Quil's shirt with both hands, looking up at him with despairing, tear-filled brown eyes. Quil's heart melted within him, even as part of him wanted to laugh at Claire's dramatic words.

However, looking at her miserable face, he quickly crushed that part of him and instead smiled sweetly at her, saying "I'm sorry Claire-bear. That was very mean of Laura and Tommy. But sweetheart, have you thought that maybe he was just as embarrassed as you by it all and that's why he didn't speak to you today? Not that that makes what he did _right, _but I don't think he hates you, sweetie. And _of course_ there will be other guys who will love you. Just you wait. They're going to be queuing up for you when you're older, so don't _worry, _OK? I know it seems bad now, but before you know it everyone will have forgotten all about it. I know because I've been there."

And he went on to tell her an embarrassing story from his high school days involving him, a girl he _really _liked and the entire football team. Before long, Claire was laughing along with him, her tears and heartache completely forgotten. Quil always knew exactly what to say and do to make her feel better, and this was to be just the first of many times that Claire would come running to him when her heart was aching. Would that it was always as easy to fix as it was the first time.

-------------------

When Claire was sixteen, she had her first real boyfriend. His name was James and he was handsome and popular and part of the school football team. Everyone told Claire how lucky she was and how much they envied her. Everyone that is except Quil. When she told him, he smiled and congratulated her but somehow his smile didn't seem to meet his eyes and his customary cheerfulness seemed a bit forced. However, if Quil did not like James or at the very least _James and Claire, _he did not show it. Out of all her friends, he was the most supportive, the most encouraging. He was the one who gave her advice and encouraged her to persevere after they had their first fight. And it was his shoulder she cried on when James dumped her after cheating on her with one of her classmates.

This was to be the pattern of the next few years. Claire would meet a guy, fall in love, tell everyone how she was convinced that _he was the one_, and then a few months later all would end in heartache. And throughout all this, Quil was her rock, her comforter, her _best friend. _But nothing more. Never more. After all, Claire had known Quil since she was two, and nothing breeds contempt like familiarity.

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On Claire's eighteenth birthday, Quil told her that he was a werewolf. She took the news surprisingly well considering that she now had to adjust her worldview to include mythical creatures. He did not, however, tell her that he had imprinted on her. Not because he didn't want to be with her. Quil had wanted to be with Claire ever since she was sixteen. He had loved her all his life, but for the past two years he had been _in _love with her. But that was irrelevant really because Claire was not in love with him, and Quil did not want to have to _tell _Claire that she was his soulmate. He wanted her to figure it out for herself, _by_ herself.

That is not to say that it didn't hurt like hell when Claire left to go to university. Quil missed her as he would miss a part of himself. He ached and longed for her. But he did not tell her this. He satisfied himself with phone calls and emails and never let on that Claire was far, far more to him than just his best friend.

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Claire, in the meantime, loved being at university. She loved the independence and the stimulation that it gave her. She loved being able to meet new people and learn new things. She had never had so much fun in her life, and yet…..And yet there was something missing. Claire was over her teenage obsession with always being in a relationship with a guy. She knew now that she did not need a guy to complete her (something she had learned from Quil in fact), and she actually enjoyed her freedom. To all intents and purposes, she was content. But she still felt that she was missing something, looking for something hidden that she just could not find. Her soulmate perhaps? Perhaps. Although Claire was not sure she believed in such things.

She asked Quil one night whether he believed in soulmates and she could hear a strange sadness in his voice as he replied, "Yes, I do. But some people never realise that they are soulmates. Or perhaps they only realise when it is too late. And then it would be better for them if soulmates were indeed nothing more than a romantic myth."

Quil's answer confused Claire and she remembered lying in bed, pondering it and wondering whether he was speaking from experience _(he sounded so sad)_ and who it was who had broken his heart. It never occurred to her then that he could have been speaking about her.

In fact, when it came to Quil, Fate or Destiny had its work cut out for it. Claire seemed pretty immune to the subtle hints that it had been sending her for the past nineteen years of her life, and thus it was that in the summer of her third year at university, Destiny decided that it was time to dispense with subtlety once and for all and set its master plan in motion.

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It started, as it so often does, with an ordinary day. Claire woke up, made herself breakfast, brushed her teeth and made her way to campus. The first few lectures of the day progressed as usual – nothing particularly exciting or boring. Indeed Claire had fully resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be a long, tedious day by the time she was making her way to her Gender Studies tutorial. When the tutor came in and announced that they were going to start the lecture with a short reflective exercise, she could have groaned. All she could think about right now was how hungry she was and how much she wished she hadn't forgotten to pack lunch for today. In fact, she was so busy thinking about her empty stomach that she almost missed the tutor's next words.

"I want you to write a list of what you look for in a member of the opposite sex. Just think about your ideal man or woman and write whatever comes to mind. You have five minutes."

Bringing herself back to the task at hand with a little shake of her head, Claire quickly started to write whatever popped into her head:

_Tall_

_Handsome_

_Nice eyes_

_Nice smile_

Well that was pretty typical…and superficial, she reflected with a grimace. After all, looks are not the only important thing. So she continued:

_Kind_

_Good sense of humour_

_Good listener_

_Fun to be around_

_Confident_

'_Gets' me_

_Strong personality_

_Responsible but can also goof off_

_Someone I can be myself around and talk to about anything_

"Ok, everyone, time's up. Now what did you think the point of that exercise was?"

Claire was barely listening to the other members of the class pontificate about _stereotypes _and _society's ideals_ and _influence of the media. _She was too busy reading through her list again, because as she had finished she had realised with a jolt of something akin to panic that _she had just described Quil. _But Quil wasn't her ideal man was he? I mean, he was _Quil. _She couldn't be in love with him, could she? She had known him all her life, since she was two for Pete's sake! But no matter how much she tried to reason with herself, no matter how desperately she tried to squash the rising panic in her stomach, Claire could not change the fact that the seed of doubt had been sown. She could not just wipe this incident or these thoughts from her mind, try as she may. Fate was finally one up on her.

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However, Claire had always been a stubborn girl and she wasn't going to change that now. Destiny would have to work much harder than that to win her over. Enter Kath, Claire's nosy new flatmate. Kath was a friendly girl. She was just a little _too _friendly for Claire's liking, wanting to know every detail of Claire's life within the first few hours of meeting her. As a fairly reserved person, Claire did not appreciate the interrogation that she was submitted to and after about half an hour of the modern-day Spanish inquisition, she politely excused herself on the pretence that she had to work on a big assignment for the next day.

However Kath, like Fate, did not give up so easily and over the next few months, she persevered in her mission of 'getting to know Claire'. One thing that she observed was that Claire spent an awful amount of time on the phone to a certain guy named Quil, who sounded very sexy the few times that she had heard his voice. Claire could talk to him for hours and always seemed very happy and bouncy after one of his calls. At first, Kath didn't say anything because she wanted to make sure she got her facts straight before confronting Claire.

However, after having observed several months of this behaviour, she was pretty certain that she was right, and so one evening after Claire had finished a particularly long conversation with Quil, Kath pounced on her as she came into the kitchen to make herself some coffee, saying "Soooo Claire, what's the deal with you and Mr Sexy Voice?"

Claire blushed, confirming Kath's suspicions, but then promptly followed it up with "Nothing, we're just friends, Kath."

"Yeah, suuure you are, Claire. Because I totally like spend two hours talking to my guy friends every night."

"No, you don't understand. We're best friends. But that's all, really. I've known him since I was like two. Seriously, there is _nothing _between us."

"Oh yeah? Well, if there isn't then why did you blush just now when I asked you? And I mean, seriously. You've gotta know that the guy has the hots for you. I mean, _no _guy phones up a girl and chats to her every night unless he's interested, 'best friend' or not. And, if you don't mind my asking….why aren't _you _interested? I mean, he sounds _hot! _And he's your best friend! Girl, what more could you _want_?"

"I-I don't know. I just….he's my friend. I-I've never thought of him that way. I need the bathroom."

And with this rather poor excuse, for that is all it was, Claire ran from the room without another word.

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That night, Claire could not sleep. She tossed and turned, getting all tangled up in her sheets until finally she kicked them off altogether. Kath's words kept ringing through her brain like a stuck record – _the guy has the hots for you….he's your best friend…what more could you want?_

What more _could _she want? Claire didn't know. And it scared her. Despite all her past relationships, this was unchartered territory. What did you do when you began to realise that you were falling for your best friend? In spite of Kath's words, Claire dare not hope that Quil felt the same way. She remembered a conversation a year ago when he had sounded so sad as he spoke (so she had assumed) of his soulmate who did not love him in return. No, Quil's heart was already given to someone else, someone who did not love him back. Someone who did not _deserve _him, Claire thought viciously. She could not hope for more than friendship from him, and she resolved within the secret recesses of her heart never to let him know that she was starting to want more from their relationship. Fate however, as one might suspect, had other plans.

-----------------

That summer Claire went back home to the rez for the holidays. Most summers she spent working in order to earn some much-needed cash, but this summer, she just felt a longing within her to go back home and spend time with her family and (although she wouldn't admit it) with Quil. This would be the first time that she had seen Quil since her conversation with Kath that night, and she knew that seeing him in person would help her to determine whether she really was falling for him or whether her feelings were just a consequence of not having had a boyfriend for a long time. She was desperately hoping that it was the latter, because then her life could go back to being uncomplicated again. However, the moment she saw Quil waiting for her at the airport with shining eyes and a big grin on his face, Claire knew that her hopes were futile. She was falling for her best friend, and she was falling hard.

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The next three months were both the best and the worst of Claire's relatively short life. Spending time with Quil now that she had a new awareness of him was more special and more (dare she say it?) magical than ever. Watching him surreptitiously as he joked around with the other pack members, enjoying his passion and excitement when he talked to her about his work in the pack and in the car business with Jacob and Embry, drinking in his infectious laughter, Claire had to wonder how she had never noticed him before, never seen him for the amazing man he was.

All these years she had taken him for granted and now suddenly it was as if a film had been removed from her eyes and she could see, really _see_ the man sitting opposite her, chatting animatedly to his friends. And he was _perfect. _Well…not perfect. Not technically. His features were not entirely symmetrical and he had a faint white scar which ran through his left eyebrow from a bicycle accident he had as a child. His two front teeth overlapped each other slightly and his right foot was slightly bigger than his left. But those things didn't matter. Because he was _Quil _and he was everything that Claire had never known she wanted. Until now.

But as Claire watched him, observing him quietly from where she sat, she felt a heavy ache settle in the pit of her stomach, as if she had swallowed a packet of liquid cement. Because much as she realised she loved Quil now, she could never tell him that. She loved him too much to ruin their friendship by pushing for it to become something more, when she knew that he could never feel the same way.

As she was thinking this, Quil looked up and caught her eyes, and something of what she was feeling must have been reflected there, because a flicker of confusion and concern crossed his face. Excusing himself from his friends, he got up and came over to her, sitting down beside her.

"Hey Claire, what's the matter? You look….sad. Or worried about something. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Claire forced herself to smile brightly at Quil, replying "Nah, I was just thinking. Nothing to worry about!"

"That was some pretty deep thinking you were doing? Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing in particular." She lied. "Just plans for next year, I guess. You know, for after I graduate."

Another flicker of emotion crossed Quil's face, but this time it looked like…fear? Claire could not be sure, because it disappeared as quickly as it came, and then Quil was asking her in a carefully neutral voice "Oh? Do you know what you want to do yet?"

This was it, Claire thought. Now was the time to break it to him. She hadn't solidified her plans yet in her mind, but she could still give him the general idea.

"Yeah, actually. Well, sort of. I was thinking I'd like to travel a bit, maybe work overseas, like in Australia or something. I've always wanted to see the world."

Claire looked at her hands, which were clenched tightly in the folds of her skirt, as she said this. She could not bear to meet his eyes for fear that he might see everything that was in her heart displayed therein and her careful façade of nonchalance would be ruined. It was a pity really that she did not look into his eyes at that moment, because then she would have seen everything that was in _his _heart written plainly for all to see. But she kept her eyes fixed firmly on her fidgeting fingers and resultantly missed the overwhelming mix of fear, hurt and love that was welling up in his dark eyes. Instead, she heard nothing more than a choked _"Oh"_ and when she looked up, he was gone.

----------------

Over the last week of the summer, Claire found that whenever she tried to phone Quil, his phone was switched off or he was not available, and whenever she went to visit, he was not there. At first she thought that perhaps he really was just busy, but after five days had gone by and she had seen neither hide nor hair of him, she began to get worried and to suspect that he was avoiding her. He hadn't spoken to her since she had told him about her post-graduation plans and she was beginning to wonder whether he was angry with her. But that wasn't like him. Quil never got angry with her and he certainly never went for a whole week without talking to her. However, by Saturday, Claire decided that she couldn't take the silence any longer. She was leaving the following day and she wanted to make sure that things were okay between them before she went back to university.

So that evening, she made her way over to Quil's house. As she had expected to be the case, he wasn't there, so she continued on to her next port of call – the Blacks' home. She had barely knocked once before Jacob opened the door. He looked down at her with an uncharacteristic frown on his face and then let her in without saying a word.

Claire made her way into the living room and perched herself awkwardly on the edge of the couch as Jacob sat down opposite her.

"So Claire, why are you here?" He began abruptly.

"I think you know why I'm here Jacob. Why is Quil avoiding me? He hasn't been answering any of my calls and he's never in when I go to visit him. What did I _do_?"

Jacob's frown deepened, if that was possible, and he replied peremptorily, "I think you know the answer to that question, Claire. Think back to the last conversation you had and you'll get it."

Claire stared at him in bemusement. "But, that's just it. I _don't _get it, Jake. He asked me about my plans for after grad, and I told him I wanted to travel and maybe work in Australia. How could that possibly have offended him?"

Jacob sighed with frustration, running one hand roughly through his hair so that it stood on end in little spikes. He muttered something to himself, which sounded awfully like an expletive, and then abruptly he stood up and grabbed Claire's hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Come on, Claire, We're going to go see Quil. I _told _him that he should have explained this to you, but he can be very stubborn when he wants to. But I've had it. You two need to _talk. _There's a lot of explaining to be done. So come."

Claire was more confused than ever by this point, as she had not the slightest idea what Jacob was speaking about, but she followed him obediently nonetheless because he was taking her to Quil, and that was what mattered.

-----------------

After a ten minute walk, they arrived at a house that Claire had seen before but never entered (it turned out to belong to Brady, one of the younger members of the wolf pack), and without further ado Jacob marched straight up to the front door, banged on it twice with his fist and then flung it open without waiting for someone to answer. Claire followed him inside more cautiously and rounding a corner she saw none other than Quil, sitting in the kitchen with Brady.

The men must have guessed that the intruder was Jacob, so had made no effort to move from their places, but Quil looked up warily as Claire entered the room behind Jake. His eyes met hers briefly and then returned to look at Jacob, a glint of anger in them.

"Why is she here Jacob? I told you not to interfere!"

Jacob's eyes glinted in return, the only difference being that his eyes contained more than a barely restrained anger. They also gleamed with a very definite authority. He drew himself up to his full, very impressive height, towering over everyone in the room, and replied firmly with the tone of the Alpha ringing in his deep voice.

"This has gone on long enough, Quil. I may be your friend, but I am also your Alpha and I have to do what is best for the pack. If Claire leaves, it will break you and, by association, us. It's hard enough being in your head as it is, having to listen to your misery every day when you refuse to do anything to fix it! Enough is enough. _Tell her the truth_."

If Jacob's speech had been powerful in general, his last words in particular were drenched in authority. There is no way, Claire thought, that Quil could refuse such a command. She could see him visibly shrink beneath the weight of Jacob's Alpha command and she felt anger on his behalf bubbling up in her.

"Stop it Jake! Don't treat him like that! If he doesn't want to tell me, then fine! But just don't _do _that!"

Jacob turned to look at her, the Alpha still very much in evidence on his face, but with a softening in his eyes.

"Claire, you don't understand. I am not just doing this for you. Quil needs to tell you this. It has been eating at him for years now and frankly, being in his head is hell on earth for all of us. He refuses to tell you of his own free will, so I had to command him. I'm sorry Claire, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."

She snorted derisively and opened her mouth to make a stinging retort, but closed it again when she felt a warm hand fall gently on her shoulder. Looking up to find the source of the warmth, she saw Quil standing next to her, looking down at her with an unfathomable expression on his face.

"Jake's right, Claire. I should have told you a long time ago. So don't yell at him, OK? Now let's go for a walk, shall we?"

She nodded mutely, her heart suddenly pounding and her thoughts racing as she realised that in a few minutes, she would know what had been bothering Quil, why he had been ignoring and avoiding her for the past week. Suddenly she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know…

-----------------

They walked for a while in silence, until they reached a secluded spot on the beach where Quil turned to face her. He sighed deeply and Claire looked up at him. He looked nervous, like he was steeling himself up for delivering and/or receiving bad news. Her heart picked up its pace again. This was it.

"Claire…." He began, but she interrupted him before he could go any further.

"No Quil. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I understand. I do. I-I don't want you to only do this because Jacob told you to…"

He sighed again and rubbed his hand over his face before he began again.

"Claire, it's OK. I know what I'm doing. And I'm not just doing this because Jacob told me to. He was right – I should have told you long ago. I should have told you when I told you everything else."

Claire was confused now. What was he talking about? He had only been acting strangely for the last week – that wasn't exactly long ago…However she didn't want to interrupt again so she kept silent and let him continue.

"Claire, do you remember back when I told you that I was a werewolf, there were also some other stories about a phenomenon called imprinting?"

Claire nodded. She remembered wondering about those stories at the time, but she hadn't asked Quil about them because she had forgotten in all the excitement and shock of finding out that he was a werewolf, and later on when she had remembered again, she figured that if it was important he would have said something about it to her, which he never had.

Quil searched her eyes briefly as though he was looking for something, and then he gave a little nod and continued.

"Well, I don't know how much you remember about those legends, but basically imprinting is what happens when a wolf finds his soulmate, the person who is perfectly matched to him in every way. Not all wolves imprint and the person you imprint on is not necessarily the same age as you, which doesn't really matter too much seeing as we don't age as long as we're phasing. And well, Claire….I-I've imprinted."

Her heart stopped. She knew it. He was referring to that girl who broke his heart, his _soulmate. _She felt her eyes start to prickle with the start of tears and blinked quickly to hold them back. She _would not _cry in front of Quil and make this more difficult for him than it already was.

Quil must have noticed her change of expression, because he suddenly knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.

"Claire, I-I'm _sorry. _I never wanted you to feel pressurised into anything which is why I didn't tell you sooner. I didn't want you to feel like you were compelled to be with me just because of some mysterious magic."

_What? _What was he talking about? Did she hear him right? She looked down at him with confusion written clearly on her face, and said "Quil? I don't understand. What are you talking about? Do you think that I would feel compelled to be with you out of _pity _because the girl you imprinted on broke your heart?"

Now it was Quil's turn to look confused. "Claire, what are _you _talking about? The girl I imprinted on didn't know I imprinted on her because I imprinted on _you._"

"M-me? But…but I thought you loved someone else? I thought you had already found your soulmate and she had broken your heart. All this time I've been fighting my feelings for you because I didn't want to pressure _you _into anything because I knew you'd already met your soulmate, and now you're telling me that I'm _her_?"

A number of emotions flickered across Quil's face in that moment, but the most prominent were joy and bemusement. "Y-your _feelings _for me, Claire? I didn't know you had feelings for me?"

Claire wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, so she compromised and gave a laughing sob. "I didn't know either until very recently. I've been so _blind _Quil. All my life I've been looking for this perfect person when all the time he's been right here in front of me, _you've _been right here in front of me. I…I've fallen in love with you, Quil Ateara…"

And with these words she really did start to cry, but they were happy tears, tears of relief brought on by the lifting of a huge weight on her heart. She heard Quil stand up and felt a pair of large, warm arms wrap firmly around her and felt Quil's lips near her ear, as he whispered "Is that why you were going to leave? Because you love me and you didn't want me to feel pressured into anything?"

She nodded against his chest. Quil chuckled, a sound of pure release and joyful abandon. "What a pair we are Claire! Both of us loving each other but not wanting to pressurise the other into a relationship! We really are soulmates!"

She laughed with him and then looking up at him, she murmured "Say it again."

"Say what Claire?"

"The part where you said you love me…"

"I love you Claire. With all my heart. I always have and I always will. Only now I am _in _love with you."

"I love you too Quil. And I _think _I always have, only I was an idiot and only realised it a few months ago. Forgive me?"

"Always, Claire."

And with these words, Quil leaned down and Claire stretched up and the two met in the middle, their lips uniting in a sweet, passionate first kiss. And the harmony of the waves crashing on the beach and the wind blowing through the trees was the sound of heaven applauding. Destiny's work was done.

**A/N: So, what did you think? Please review!! And don't forget to vote for best fic at the Sort of Beautiful Challenge and check out the nominees in the Sparkle Awards!!**


	2. When Love Was New Contest Results!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**The results for the When Love Was New Contest are back and I GOT AN HONOURABLE MENTION!!!!! YAY! Two of the judges wrote absolutely **

**wonderful and flattering write ups about this story on the Fictionator's blog and I even got a pretty banner!**

**The links to the write-ups and my banner are up on my profile, so you can go check them out and see what they said:)**

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**ALSO, _A Golden Hearted Rose _is up for a Silent Tear Award in the Best One-Shot category! Once again, the link is up on my profile so if you **

**enjoyed that story, please show your support by going and voting:-)**

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**FINALLY, I have started writing an Alice/Jasper story called _Down the Rabbit Hole. _It is probably going to be a three shot and I've published **

**the first chapter on my profile. It is a unique look at Alice immediately after her transformation. I always thought she was an interesting **

**character and so I decided to explore her further. Even if this is not the usual pairing you go for, I encourage you to give it a try and tell**

** me what you think:-) I always love hearing from you guys - it inspires me to write more!**

**Here's a teaser:**

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**

She stumbled backwards in horror, her unnaturally white and smooth hands flying trembling to her bloodstained mouth. _What had she done? What had she become? _Turning quickly away, she fled from the site of the carnage, her legs trembling beneath her even as they moved faster than sight. When she was far away from civilisation, far from any more distracting scents, she collapsed on her knees and sobbed. But no tears would come and try as she might, her dry heaving did not bring her the satisfaction that she thought it would.

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End file.
